Chippa United coach Dan Malesela has lined up six friendly matches in KwaZulu-Natal as he bids to prime his team ahead of the new PSL season.
The Port Elizabeth-based side will be spending two weeks in Durban as part of their pre-season camp.
With some of his players having dropped fitness levels during the off-season, Malesela will use the pre-season camp to get them back in shape and also identify his starting lineup.
“We are looking at playing about six friendlies against AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and with the national U20 team. This will mean some days we will play one club twice a day,” the coach said.
“With the injuries there is no problem, but in terms of performance I think it’s a bit too early to say anything. There are a number of players who have gained a little weight during the break, but it’s something that I think we can fix.
“We have Lerato Manzini, Rhulani Manzini and we also need to work on Tshwarelo Bereng, but a lot of them are in good shape.”
Malesela said a special programme has been designed for players who have put on extra kilos during the break, plus those players who went into the break with injuries.
The coach said his troops were better than their 13th position on the log last season suggested.
“We can only be better if we try and do better things. I think one of the problems we had was to take things for granted, so we should be better this season. Plus the few changes that we have made to the team. We have also tried to find leadership in the players who are coming in.
“We will beef up the defence. There are quite a number of players we are bringing in, but I cannot say anything yet because there needs to be a formal announcement.”
Asked exactly how many players would be coming in, Malesela answered: “A lot”.
Dan plans for friendly warfare for war ahead
The Port Elizabeth-based side will be spending two weeks in Durban as part of their pre-season camp.
With some of his players having dropped fitness levels during the off-season, Malesela will use the pre-season camp to get them back in shape and also identify his starting lineup.
“We are looking at playing about six friendlies against AmaZulu, Golden Arrows and with the national U20 team. This will mean some days we will play one club twice a day,” the coach said.
“With the injuries there is no problem, but in terms of performance I think it’s a bit too early to say anything. There are a number of players who have gained a little weight during the break, but it’s something that I think we can fix.
“We have Lerato Manzini, Rhulani Manzini and we also need to work on Tshwarelo Bereng, but a lot of them are in good shape.”
Malesela said a special programme has been designed for players who have put on extra kilos during the break, plus those players who went into the break with injuries.
The coach said his troops were better than their 13th position on the log last season suggested.
“We can only be better if we try and do better things. I think one of the problems we had was to take things for granted, so we should be better this season. Plus the few changes that we have made to the team. We have also tried to find leadership in the players who are coming in.
“We will beef up the defence. There are quite a number of players we are bringing in, but I cannot say anything yet because there needs to be a formal announcement.”
Asked exactly how many players would be coming in, Malesela answered: “A lot”.
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